St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-10
FOR THE FARMERS.
Report of the Department Of Agri-
culture for April.


culture for April.
WASHINGTON, April 9.-The report of
the department of agriculture for April re-
lates to the condition of winter grain and
the comparative healthfulness of farm ami
mails. The returns show that the condition
of the soil at the time of seeding wheat was
somewhat unfavorable in the states on the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, owing to drought
during the late simmer and autumn, most
severe in portions of Pennsylvania, Mary
land and Virginia and in parts of Texas
The same unfavorable conditions prevailed
in Western Missouri and in Kansas. The
continued dry weather made blowing diff
cult, seeding late and in localities where it
was unbroken when winter set in, germina-
ton was slow and the full growth small.
In the great wheat states of the Central
West, from Tennessee to Missouri, the seed
bed for the greater part of the area was in
favorable condition and, with local excep-
tons, the plant made good growth before
going into winter quarters. On the
Pacific slope the early seeding time
was dry, but rams came later
and the whole breadth was put in fair con-
dition, though somewhat after the usual
date. The covering of iron during the
early portion of the winter was better than
usual over large part of the wheat area,
but there are from many sections COM
plants of scanty protection during very
trying weather since Feb. Is. The month
of March was the most severe for a series
of years, the temperature being below the
average over the whole wheat area east of
the Mississippi river, and alternate freezing
and thawing wrought serious damage to
bare fields. especially in bottom and poorly
drained lands Pennsylvania, Virginia and
Ohio suffered severely from this incem-
ency. The general average condition is IS,
the same as III 1881, and higher than at the
same date in 1888 and 1885, when it was so
and rs respectively. The April condition
of last year was 92.5, which was still
further improved by favorable weather
during the month. The averages for the
principal states are: New York 81, Penn
sylvania 20, Maryland 50, Virginia 70,
Texas 10, Tennessee "a, Kentucky 90, Ohio
~, Michigan 90, Indiana 90, Illinois 90,
Missouri 95, Kansas SO, California 80 and
Oregon SO. The damage from the Hessian
fly is comparatively unnoticed. Its pres
ence is mentioned in from one to four
counties in New York, Texas Tennessee,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Rye
has withstood the unfavorable meteorologi-
cal conditions better than wheat, the ave-
rage of condition being 80 against SO at the
same date year ago. The returns of con-
dition of farm animals show q loss of swine
amounting to 1874 per cent, or $500 900.
and indicates the continued widespread
prevalence of hog cholera. The losses of
sheep amount to Z per cent, of cattle, As
per cent. Losses of cattle are heaviest In
the South and on the ranges of the Far
West from to 9 per cent, while in the
sections where shelter is provided and better
care taken it amounts to only az to per
cent. The loss among horses, as usual, is
very small, amounting for the whole coun-
try to less than ITO of 1 per cent